Cultus
cultus
Cicero defined religio as cultus deorum, "the cultivation of the gods."[130]
The "cultivation" necessary to maintain a specific deity was that god's cultus, "cult," and required "the knowledge of giving the gods their due" (scientia colendorum deorum).[131]
The noun cultus originates from the past participle of the verb colo, colere, colui, cultus, "to tend, take care of, cultivate," originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land *(ager)*; to practice agriculture," an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized.
Cultus is often translated as "cult", without the negative connotations the word may have in English, or with the Anglo-Saxon word "worship", but it implies the necessity of active maintenance beyond passive adoration.
Cultus was expected to matter to the gods as a demonstration of respect, honor, and reverence; it was an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion (see do ut des).[132]*
St. Augustine echoes Cicero's formulation when he declares that "religio is nothing other than the cultus* of God."[133]